Underwater datacenters may be next, and Lake Erie groups are worried

Datacenters, the buildings full of computers that run apps and AI, may be headed underwater. Two already operate off the coast of China. Recent reports say the Trump administration is considering four sealed-pod datacenters off the shores of Maine and Alaska. No project is proposed for the Great Lakes, but groups around Lake Erie are getting ready anyway.

Why tech companies like the idea

Underwater sites largely avoid the community fights that datacenters spark on land, where neighbors object. In theory they could also cut utility costs, since water helps cool the machines. A Microsoft test off northern Scotland, started in 2018, ran for two years. Server failures were 87% lower than at comparable land datacenters.

The worry on Lake Erie

The Great Lakes are home to 30 million people, and many drink the water. John Lipaj of the Lake Erie Foundation, an Ohio non-profit, says datacenters throw off a lot of heat. Lake Erie already struggles with harmful algal blooms, which he says grow because of heat as well as farm runoff.

He also points to the risk of leaks. He named the fluids, batteries and electrical equipment inside a datacenter as possible causes of a serious failure.

Helena Volzer of the Alliance for the Great Lakes warned about thermal shock. A quick rise of just 2 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit can disrupt aquatic life, she said. It can reduce oxygen and push fish out of their preferred habitats. Lake Erie is already the warmest of the five Great Lakes in summer.

Where the rules stand

The US floor of Lake Erie falls under Ohio's jurisdiction. Ohio lawmakers once proposed a law making it easier for datacenters to discharge wastewater into public waterways. The state EPA denied that measure last July after a public outcry. Of the eight US Great Lakes states, only New York has a statewide pause on datacenter construction, and it ends in mid-2027.

On November 3, voters in Conneaut, Ohio, a Lake Erie town of about 12,000, approved a ban on large datacenters. Council member Mariana Branch said she had not heard of underwater datacenters before, and that technology moves too fast for cities to keep up.

What happens next

A federal EPA spokesperson said the agency supports datacenter development while using its authority to protect water quality. Some people say the Scotland results show merit in the idea, and note the Great Lakes have no large sea animals like the open ocean does. For now, nothing is proposed for the region.